Man Faces 25 Years Or More In Attack On Off-Duty Cop

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A man has been convicted of knocking an off-duty police officer unconscious in an attack in downtown San Francisco last November, a spokesman with the district attorney’s office said Wednesday.

Alfred Pitman was convicted by a jury of battery on a police officer that caused serious bodily injury, with the enhancement of being a previously convicted felon, spokesman Seth Steward said.

The attack happened on Nov. 28 near the intersection of Sutter and Powell streets, where Pitman approached the female officer, who was off-duty, and aggressively asked for money, according to the district attorney’s office.

The woman identified herself as a police officer and told Pitman he was being too aggressive. At that point, he threw a cup of coffee on her, prosecutors said.

The officer tried to detain Pitman, and as she asked a newspaper vendor to call 911, he punched her twice in the face, knocking her unconscious, according to the district attorney’s office.

Pitman was eventually arrested and was convicted by a jury of the battery charge on Friday, Steward said.

Because defense attorneys asked for a bifurcated trial in which jurors were not made aware of Pitman’s previous offenses until after the verdict, he was not convicted on the enhancements until Monday, Steward said.

Pitman faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on April 1.